Paris Lowery

8/8/23

LIT 300

Final Paper

The role of theory in interpretation is to provide more understanding of a text through a

specific theoretical lens. It can offer a new and unbiased perspective by having the reader

analyze the text using that lens and pulling their own analysis from it. Interpretation and theory

can seem very different because one focuses on the literal meaning of a text while the other

creates more room for generalizations, but “interpretation and theory have moved closer and

closer to each other... One of its aims, then, is to show how theory and practice are inevitably

connected and have always been connected.” (Bertens, 2017)

I will be using Alice Walker's short story “Everyday Use”, applying Feminist theory and

Structuralist theory to it. I thought this story holds quite a bit of both theories because they both

explore the dynamics of a family but with all women, of different ages, as well as different ways

of thinking. I wanted to use these theories to understand Walker’s characters better and their role

in society. Analyzing this text with my chosen theories is something I believe will further my

knowledge and others’ of Walker’s characters in the story as well as the impact of their way of

thinking in our modern world. I think it’s interesting to apply these theories to a story with such

strong, African American female leads.

 According to research (Arinder et al., 2019), Feminist theory “falls under the umbrella of

critical theory, which in general have the purpose of destabilizing systems of power and

oppression.” This theory’s focus is on analyzing systems and structures where sex, gender, race,

discrimination, equality, difference, and choice are challenged against certain groups or

individuals. In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use”, the main characters are all women

and African Americans-- two historically marginalized groups who are often misrepresented and

misunderstood. Walker’s story focuses on a unique family dynamic, one that is untraditional

(single-parent household, all women, African-American) but also a real perspective of African-

American women.

The story’s setting is around the late 1960s or early 1970s, when many African

Americans fought to establish themselves in American society but to also be connected with their

ancestral roots. Around this time also brought a new wave in the Feminism movement, where

women were being more empowered to break free from stereotypical gender roles in society.

Black Feminism was also becoming more prevalent; “This brand of feminism was different than

that of white women because black women had been working outside the home as other female

family members had, unlike white women who predominantly stayed at home as caregivers.”

(Estes, 2021) Since African American women struggled to find their voice in the Civil Rights

Movement and the Feminist Movement, writers and activists like Alice Walker worked to

become a voice in helping to highlight the struggles of African American women.

Analyzing Mrs. Johnson and Dee’s relationship can offer varying binary perspectives

within Feminism-- the elder versus the child, mother and daughter, traditional versus modern--
that all create a place where one must choose a side. This is where Maggie seems to be the one

who is faced with that decision when in reality, it is the viewer who is faced with this choice.

Maggie represents the middle, where the everyday person looks at the modern world with awe,

and perhaps borderline jealousy, over the new-age thinking of African Americans. Women are

more accessible to basic rights previously denied (albeit still not without difficulty), Dee being

the model for what that looks like. “Dee wanted nice things. She was determined to stare down

any disaster in her efforts.” (Walker & Strowbridge, 2014) Maggie is on the outside looking in at

Dee’s more exciting life-- experiencing college life, handsome suitors with money, and

independence-- which pales to Maggie’s simpler living.

Instead of empowering them, Dee chooses to bring up these privileges in a way that

makes her mother and sister feel bad about continuing to live the way that they do. “She used to

read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting

trapped and ignorant underneath her voice. She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us

with a lot of knowledge we didn’t necessarily need to know.” (Walker & Strowbridge, 2014)

This additional binary creates another divide within Feminism, one focusing on status and

education dictating one’s smartness and success in life. Dee’s arrogance puts her in the same

small-minded state those who discriminate against others are in, the state of feeling powerful and

superior to those whom they consider out of their league.

Feminist theory can be applied to Walker’s story to better understand Mrs. Johnson and

her daughters’ relationships with each other as well as what role they represent in society. Mrs.

Johnson represents the wiser of the three, not as school-educated as Dee has become but is very
much educated in life and humility. She and Dee are at odds in the story because of their

differing views of their culture but also how they treat people. Dee was not a person who was

sharing new-found knowledge but one who was arrogant, disdainful, and patronizing. Mrs.

Johnson was more humble but would not stand for Dee disrespecting something as important as

promises, especially to people she believes deserve them.

Her thoughts about Maggie were that she was “a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by

some careless person rich enough to own a car” (Walker & Strowbridge, 2014) and would still

be nice to people, despite their ignorance. But she preferred Maggie to Dee, who was as humble

as Mrs. Johnson. Feminism is always associated with empowering other women, which takes

traits found in people like Maggie and Mrs. Johnson. When those thoughts of this theory are

applied, it gives great weight to the character of these women and people like them in the real

world.

Structuralism is a theory used to understand why things are, bringing value and meaning

to simple and complex concepts. This theory “...focuses on the conditions that make meaning

possible, rather than on meaning itself.” (Bertens, 2017) Applying this theory to Walker’s story

would provide a better understanding of the concepts presented from a cultural and worldwide

view of the dilemma of generational gaps in African American families.

The patterns expressed in Walker’s story are like those also explored in Lorraine

Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun”. Hansberry’s play focuses on themes like the “value

systems of the black family; concepts of African American beauty and identity; class and
generational conflicts; the relationships of husbands and wives, black men and women... [and]

feminism of the daughter” (Hansberry & Nemiroff, 2011). Walker’s story explores the same

themes in her story through her characters of Mrs. Johnson (Mama), Maggie, and Dee. Both

stories seem to be set around the same era, again, where there was the dilemma of African

American families becoming distanced from their cultural identity– which affects traditional

values and heritage being carried out. At this time many African Americans also struggled “to

redefine and seize control of their social, cultural, and political identity in American society.”

(Hanafy & Human and Social Sciences, 2010)

Walker’s story follows the divide of conflicting cultures, “the oppressive culture of the

dominant majority who struggles to survive in hostile environments and an emerging

consciousness which challenges cultural bias and fights against racial class, creating a different

culture from the earlier one.” (Hanafy & Human and Social Sciences, 2010) Many African

Americans fought to establish themselves in American society but also connected with their

ancestral roots, identifying better with African culture than American culture. The characters of

Dee and Mrs. Johnson embodied the parts of this divide, creating a generational gap of tension

and misunderstandings. Dee has taken what she learned about African American culture from

college and practically wipes away her personal experience, distancing herself physically and

emotionally from her family and roots.

Analyzing Mrs. Johnson and Dee’s relationship can offer varying binary perspectives--

the elder versus the child, mother and daughter, traditional versus modern-- that all create a place

where one must choose a side. This is where Maggie seems to be the one who is faced with that
decision when in reality, it is the viewer who is faced with this choice. Maggie represents the

middle, where the everyday person looks at the modern world with awe, and perhaps borderline

jealousy, over the new-age thinking of African Americans. “[Maggie] will stand hopelessly in

corners homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a

mixture of envy and awe. She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that

‘no’ is a word the world never learned to say to her.” (Walker & Strowbridge, 2014) Maggie is

on the outside looking in at Dee’s more exciting life-- experiencing college life, handsome

suitors with money, and beauty-- which creates a lifestyle that seems unattainable because of

physical characteristics. This additional binary creates another divide, one focusing on status,

conventional beauty, and education dictating one’s smartness and success in life. Dee’s

arrogance puts her in the same small-minded state those who discriminate against others are in,

the state of feeling powerful and superior to those who aren’t in the same class as their own.

These are the factors that create class societies and promote negative stereotypes, among

other things. A heirarchy that is not fair to all, only benefitting those who are at the top of it and

its job is to keep up that dynamic. I believe that was a startling point that was revealed through a

structuralist lens, which I believe gave even more meaning than using one particular lens. If only

Cultural Studies were to be applied, it would also mesh into some points that may fall under

structuralism but it would also only focus on it from a more biased perspective as well.

Using the Structuralist lens made me see Maggie in a different way, that she perhaps

represents the younger generation that is in the shadow between adapting and possibly losing

their cultural identity and honoring their ancestor’s roots by not forgetting where they came from
and making their pain not be in vain. It also paints a picture of people like Dee being lost and

more ignorant than the people she looks down on but also that people like Mrs. Johnson are stuck

in the past of history and being left behind. Both sides are stubborn in their own ways; it's an

extreme measure on both sides that doesn't create a clear winner for either.

In conclusion, the text being analyzed by Feminist theory and Structuralist theory

changed the understanding of Walker’s characters in a way that enhanced the issues of their roles

more. At first glance, one would pay most attention to Dee’s character and see how disrespectful

she is to her mother, sister, and their culture. She is usually not a well-liked character but she is

also misunderstood in a way. She comes as a product of African American progress and is given

another insight into her culture that she’s learned from going to college. It is a common

experience that people change their way of thinking after going to college but it is considered

rude and disrespectful if you return to the normalcy of off-campus life to boast and put down

people with that knowledge. Dee’s behavior paints educated people in a bad light, so people

would feel discouraged from getting higher education to not become like Dee. But people like

Mrs. Johnson who are educated in life lessons tend to have more self-awareness and humility as

well as strength and sense of identity– the makings of a person who is content with what they

have and not concerned about what other people are doing.

From the Feminist aspect, it changed the message that I received from Mrs. Johnson,

Dee, and Maggie. I had previously looked at the story from a general aspect and somewhat a

more cultural aspect because of the grandmother’s quilt being argued over. But looking at it

through this lens opened the story deeper, where I found that Dee’s behavior towards her mother
and sister created even more isolation from her family. Her patronizing attitude was off-putting

and also disrespectful in that she felt superior to her mother, someone with years of wisdom and

in the position to be respected as an elder. Maggie, even though she was younger than Dee, also

deserved more respect as a woman and as her family. Mrs. Johnson felt that Maggie was a

pushover but still felt the need to protect her and stand up for her, giving Maggie a better role

model for strength and community with women. Elder siblings are often looked at as important

as adult guardians when it comes to leading by example. Dee sets a terrible example for Maggie

of what education does to people. Even while feeling some envy toward her, it can be said that

Maggie doesn’t want to become like Dee to have her version of a “better” life.

Without the ability to interpret texts using literary theories would create a lot more one-

dimensional analysis. There’s only so much information one can gather from generalizations and

one’s own point of view. Using literary theories is like putting on someone else’s shoes left at the

front door to take out the trash; they may not fit your feet entirely but they help you get the job

done. It’s not always guaranteed that people will change their mind about some things but it

offers that option to see another perspective and understand it better. This is an important aspect

that is applied to many things outside of analyzing texts, it can be applied to anything worth

gaining a better understanding of. The more people can understand about literature, the more

they can understand about people and the world they live in. It pays a lot to read something but

it's worth so much more when one understands the meaning behind those words.
Sources

Arinder, J.A., Egbert, J., & Roe, M. (2019). Feminist Theory – Theoretical Models for

Teaching and Research. Pressbooks.

https://opentext.wsu.edu/theoreticalmodelsforteachingandresearch/chapter/feminist-

theory/.

Bertens, H. (2017). Literary Theory: The Basics (3rd ed.). Taylor & Francis.

https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781135052973.

Estes, A. (2021, September 10). New Criticism and Feminist Theory on Alice Walker’s

Everyday Use. www.linkedin.com. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-

criticism-feminist-theory-alice-walkers-everyday-use-amanda-estes.

Hanafy, I. A. & Human and Social Sciences. (2010). Cultures in Conflict: An

Interpretation of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use.” Dirasat, 37(2).

Hansberry, L. & Nemiroff, R. (2011). A raisin in the sun. Vintage.

Walker, A. & Strowbridge, C. C. (Ed.). (2014). Short story masterpieces by american

women writers. Dover Publications.